1. Field of the Invention
The inventions disclosed and taught herein relate generally to collection bags for use with appliances, such as vacuum cleaners, and more specifically is related to vacuum filter bag assemblies with mounting and sealing assemblies that allow for rapid and easy exchange when the filter bag is full.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most upright vacuum cleaners utilize a paper or other material filter bag with a plastic or cardboard attachment mechanism to secure it to the filter housing. Such filter bags have been mounted inside a vacuum cleaner housing for capturing dirt and dust entrained in the air flow from a dirt collecting nozzle. Typically, the dirty air is delivered by a conduit to an enclosed rigid housing or flexible bag in which the dirty air is directed. In some upright vacuum cleaners, the dirty air is drawn or forced through a rigid housing in which the air is filtered. In other upright vacuum cleaners, the dirty air is forced under pressure into a flexible cloth bag which filters the air. Disposable paper or other suitable material bags can be mounted to outlet tubes in the flexible cloth bags and the rigid housings to collect the dust and dirt. A typical filter bag has an aperture formed therein for receiving the dirt and dust from the working air channel.
Several problems have been associated with previous upright vacuum cleaner bag mounting assemblies, including are the cost and complexity of the bag mounting system and the difficulty average consumers experience in properly installing the bag. A challenge faced by the industry is designing a cost-effective filter bag mounting which is intuitive to the customer for mounting the bag on the dirty air outlet housing and which can be quickly and easily installed by the average consumer. Several of the known prior art upright filter bag mounting systems are complex, relatively expensive to manufacture, are not intuitive to the customer or are not reliably alignable. For example, several upright vacuums use a paper filter bag with a cardboard sleeve that can readily be misaligned during installation, leading to dust and dirt to escape from the bag around the seals during use.
The inventions disclosed and taught herein are directed to improved vacuum filter assemblies with a locking rim to secure and seal the filter in place and minimize filter leakage after installation.